FNB estimates that Black Friday spending will amount to R3.3 billion or more, a reasonable improvement on the R3.2 billion total recorded in 2024.
However, consumers are set to be more methodical about how they spend their money this year, with a focus on groceries and finding excellent deals.
When it comes to payment, digital wallets are increasingly popular among shoppers.
This week is a biggy for local businesses with Black Friday marking the start of the festive shopping season. Retailers are getting ready to discount products and welcome an influx of shoppers.
FNB estimates that Black Friday spending through “digital payments, online shopping and overall transactions” will exceed R3.3 billion. In 2024, FNB reported that spending on Black Friday amounted to R3.2 billion. This growth seems to be in line with consumer spending so it’s important that retailers heed FNB’s estimates.
Granted, this is just based on FNB’s own data so the figures will vary from bank to bank but, growth being estimated by one of the big banks is encouraging for retailers heading into the weekend.
With that having been said, retailers and service providers need to be smart to actually get a share of that spending.
“Customer behaviour over the year shows that South Africans are making deliberate choices about how and when they spend, such as shifting their budgets towards essentials, prioritising discounts, and timing purchases to align with promotional periods,” says FNB Credit Card Business Development Head, Akshay Bhayroo.
The bank expects spending to be especially resilient in the grocery, clothing and entertainment categories.
How South Africans pay
What we found most interesting in the data FNB shared is the rise in popularity of contactless payments, particularly paying with a digital wallet. Digital wallet payments actually accounted for 18 percent of all in-store transactions processed by FNB in 2024.
While anecdotal, we’ve seen a lot more people tapping their phones and watches at points of sale than we did last year so we expect this payment type to balloon in 2025.
“We expect digital payments to play an even larger role this Black Friday as customers look for convenience, safety and real value. Last year set a strong foundation and the momentum across 2025 suggests that this year will follow a similar pattern of steady growth across both online and in-store retail,” reports Bhayroo.
Cash has become very unpopular over the last few years with its use usually confined to smaller purchases of less than R100 and cash is mostly used by older South Africans. Some retailers are shying away from cash entirely and while it’s understandable, there are still millions of citizens who rely on being able to pay with cash. As such, accepting cash could be a difference maker for a retailer.
There is a lot of money set to be flowing through the air this coming weekend and if you’re spending or selling, be a bit more cautious and take security a bit more seriously.
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